Tag Archives: reading

In hopes of forging new habits

Posted on by under General Bloggity Stuff, General Writing-Related Posts

Or “Help, I’m Experiencing a Horrible, Painful Book Hangover.”

I was planning this blog entry for earlier, and by earlier I don’t mean earlier today so much as some point yesterday.  Then I worked for ten hours, which transformed me into a three-toed sloth with a strong, overwhelming need to loaf about the couch.  I had also wanted to come up with a really witty title about having a sizable, ever-growing backlog of books (that didn’t pan out anyway, because the best I could come up with was “book-log”, and that sounds like toilet humor).

The three new habits I hope to form this year, which aren’t to be mistaken for New Year’s resolutions because, as mentioned in my last entry, I don’t usually handle those well are as follows:

  1. Read, even if only a little, every day
  2. Write, even if only a little, every day
  3. Write a journal entry every day before bed

The first one is actually what waylaid me from making an entry earlier.  Instead of writing about how I have a backlog of books to read, and how I already have some titles I want to add to my library (I’m looking at you, “Vampires in the Lemon Grove“), I ended up reading the two-hundred-some pages of “Dreams and Shadows” I had left (and hadn’t gotten around to for the past couple months, which is a shame because it’s a fantastic book).  Since a bit before my last year of college, I noticed I’d been making less and less time for reading.  Not for lack of wanting to read, and not for using the time for video games or other means of entertainment.  At some point, reading began happening less.  Yes, I realize there was probably an actual, underlying reason for that.  Since I genuinely enjoy reading, and I like to claim I’m a writer (though there is limited proof of this), I feel like I need to get back to reading, and reading often.  The intense feeling of sadness I have from finishing “Dreams and Shadows”, which I referred to above as a book hangover (if you don’t think that’s a great term, you need to reevaluate everything about your life because it is a great term) is something I’ve missed.  Falling deep into another world for hours on end is something I’ve missed even more.  And, of course, those new books I received for Christmas aren’t going to read themselves.

The second habit I intend on getting into will be a bit more difficult for me, but it’s one I need (emphasis on need over want) to get into.  I’m a writer, damn it.  I should start behaving more like one.  My schedule with my nine-to-five job, which is almost never actually 9a.m. to 5p.m. usually leaves me more ready for extended periods of sleep.  That being said, my notebook for “Joshua’s Nightmares” has been sitting out in places where it can make me feel guilty, and I acknowledge how awkward it would be if all of these lovely notebooks I have were to continue to remain blank.

Thirdly, and feeling a bit like a simple variation of the previous habit I hope to build over the course of this year, I want to start keeping a journal daily.  My all-around wonderful sister got me a TARDIS notebook this past Christmas, and I’ve been thinking about what to occupy its pages with.  A couple days ago, for whatever reason, the idea of starting a journal popped into my head.  The idea of journaling then proceeded to buy prime real estate in my head, where it built a tiny, but cozy, cottage, unpack all of its things, and refuse any notions of eviction.  I’m the sort of person who tends to worry a fair bit (read as “I’m a ball of anxiety on a regular basis”), so I thought it couldn’t hurt to have another outlet for what’s on my mind (without polluting Misadventures in Fiction with it).  It’s also a great way to make sure I do at least a little writing every day, though that one pertains more specifically to writing of a creative nature.

Anyone else working to form new or stronger habits, creative or otherwise, and feel like sharing them?  Post ’em in the comments.

And now, in line with all this positive-thinking, new-habit-forming business, I believe it’s time to write a journal entry.

Vidya games are the devil

Posted on by under Posts of a Rant-like Nature

There’s a number of things that will instantly, undoubtedly, and always piss me off.  People who chew loudly, with their mouths open?  You bet.  Children running amok while their parents maintain a state of blissful ignorance?  Check.  And then there are people who, no matter the type or specific subset mentioned, consistently rail against video games.  There’s always some connection made between video games and deviant behavior, like it’s some completely unnatural form of entertainment that should be evicted from the planet just as violently as some people seem to believe these games play out.  Why, though?

First and foremost, it is necessary to point out I have been fond of video games for as long as I can remember.  Label me a gamer, if you will.  Ever since I was but a small child with my very first Sega Genesis (which, I should add, I still own to this day), I have loved everything video games have to offer.  They provided a social lubricant to an otherwise-awkward child, another fuel for my desire to come up with my own creative content to share with the world, a pick-me-up for those days that really made me feel like the universe was out to get me, and one more leisure activity.  Nice and simple, with no real negative impacts.

Points I am willing to consider are as follows, but may not be limited to these items (I am notoriously forgetful at times).

  • Video games, like any other leisure activity, can be enjoyed to excess.  Yes.  But that’s not necessarily a wide-spread issue so much as an individual-to-individual one, and most people are able to step away from their games and say, “I need to go do something else”.
  • Video games are being used as a substitute for/are taking the place of reading.  To contrast someone’s desire to read with how often, or if, they play video games seems about as meaningful, to me at any rate, as trying to contrast a person’s desire to read with how often they participate in sports.  Or community outreach programs.  Or breathe.  Do you see what I’m getting?  If a person is inclined to read, or desires to read, the consumption of digital media such as video games isn’t likely to impact that.  If they’re disinclined to pick up a book or two, that’s their decision.  I would like to point out I am very much in favor of people reading, but I feel like a few posts could be made entirely on that subject.
  • Video games lead to violent thoughts and behavior.  What I would say is video games, like many aspects of mass media, lend to the further desensitization to violence, but they’re no more or less guilty than movies in this respect.  I also feel like it takes a special mix of conditions to result in a person who thinks a video game with violent actions should be treated as a guide for how to go about life.

Ultimately, there just seems to be something inherently backwards, something that smacks of an older-times-were-better-ones mentality, about people who treat video games as a form of deviance.

I’ve got to excuse myself now, as I’ve just been informed my princess is in another castle.